US0072l5047B2

(12) United States Patent (10) Patent N0.: US 7,215,047 B2

Lilie (45) Date of Patent: May 8, 2007

(54) LINEAR MOTOR AND LINEAR (56) References Cited

COMPRESSOR INCLUDING SAID MOTOR U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
5,945,748 A 8/1999 Park et al.
(75) Inventor: Dietmar Erich Bernhard Lilie,
Joinville (BR) (Continued)
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
73A'g
ss1 nee: Ep
IIl resa B'l'dCp
rasielra e om ressores
S.A. -Embraco, Joinville -SC (BR) EP 0 954 086 A2 11/1999

(Continued)
* N otice:
' S u bj ect to anyd'1sc l a1mer,t
' h eterrno f t hi s
patent is extended or adjusted under 35 OTHER PUBLICATIONS
U.S.C. 154(b) by 271 days. Patent abstracts of Japan, vol. 2000, N0. 13, Feb. 5, 2001 & JP 2000
297751 A (Matsushita Refrigeration Co Ltd), Oct. 24, 2000.
(Continued)
(21) Appl. N0.: 10/477,902
Primary ExamineriBurton Mullins
(22) PCT Filed: May 13,2002 (74) Attorney, Agent, or FirmiDarby & Darby

(86) PCT N0.: PCT/BR02/00068 (57) ABSTRACT

A linear motor and a linear compressor including said motor.
371 (0X1) The linear motor comprises a set of inner laminations (90),
(2), (4) Date: Jun. 30, 2004 forming the stator, mounted around the outer circumference
of a ?xed member (60), and a set of outer laminations (30)
(87) PCT Pub. No.: WO02/093714 mounted spaced from the inner laminations (90). An actua
tor (85) is connected to a movable member (80) and carries
PCT Pub. Date: Nov. 21, 2002 a magnet member (86) in the space de?ned between the
inner laminations (90) and the outer laminations (30). The
(65) Prior Publication Data upper ends of the inner laminations (90) and outer lamina
US 2004/0239192 A1 Dec. 2, 2004 tions (30) are connected by a connecting element (100)
made of a non-magnetic material, in order to stabilize the
(30) Foreign Application Priority Data laminations and serve as a suspension mounting for the set
of outer laminations (30). Application of electric current to
May 14, 2001 (BR) .................................. .. 0102566 a coil (95) causes the actuator (85) to move and carry the
movable member (80) With it. The ?xed member (60) is
(51) Int. Cl. de?ned by the cylinder of the compressor and the movable
H02K 33/16 (2006.01) member (80) by the piston, Which is reciprocated inside the
H02K 1/18 (2006.01) cylinder to compress a refrigerant gas, and the connecting
F043 35/04 (2006.01) element (100) does not contact the cylinder. This arrange
(52) US. Cl. .......................... .. 310/15; 310/23; 310/28; ment does not require any special con?guration of the
417/417 cylinder or use of an additional plate to provide the con
(58) Field of Classi?cation Search ................ .. 310/15, nection to the outer laminations.
310/23; 417/416, 417
See application ?le for complete search history. 11 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
 US 7,215,047 B2
Page 2

US. PATENT DOCUMENTS FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS

6,209,328 B1 4/2001 Kim 6161. W0 Wool/29444 A1 4/2001
6,565,332 B2* 5/2003 Kawahara et a1. . 417/417 OTHER PUBLICATIONS
6,828,711 132* 12/2004 Lilie ........................ .. 310/254 Patent abstracts ofJapan, V01. 1999, NO. 01, Jan. 29, 1999 & JP 10
2002/0135264 Al* 9/2002 Song et a1. ............... .. 310/254 285898 A(Nab99 Ltd), Oct, 23, 1998,
2004/0141860 A1 * 7/2004 * cited by examiner
U.S. Patent May 8, 2007 Sheet 2 0f 2 US 7,215,047 B2

9D 50

[100
U
38

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6

A FIG. 2
PRIOR ART
 US 7,215,047 B2
1 2
LINEAR MOTOR AND LINEAR
COMPRESSOR INCLUDING SAID MOTOR
This is a US. national phase application under 35 U.S.C.
371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/BR02/
000068 ?led May 13, 2002, and claims the bene?t of
Brazilian Application No PI 0102566-0 ?led May 14, 2001.
The International Application Was published in on Nov. 11,
2002 as International Publication No. WO/2002/093714
under PCT Article 21 (2) the content of Which is incorporated
herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a linear motor presenting
a simpli?ed mounting of the laminations of the motor, in
order to improve the e?iciency of said motor, particularly
When applied to linear compressors of small refrigeration
systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Electric linear motors are Well knoWn devices, in Which
one of a coil or magnet element is mounted to a ?xed
member, and the other element is mounted to a member to
be moved. Electric current is applied to the coil, Which
generates magnetic lines of force to interact With the magnet
to produce linear motion of the movable member. Such
electric linear motors are generally used in refrigeration
compressors in Which the movable member is de?ned by the
piston of the compressor and the magnet is mounted to said
piston. The coil is ?xedly mounted to an external portion of
the compressor structure that forms the cylinder, inside
Which the piston is reciprocated.
FIG. 1 of the appended draWings illustrates a prior art
linear compressor of the type disclosed in US. Pat. No.
5,945,748. In this knoWn prior art construction, there is
provided a hermetic shell 10, Within Which is mounted a
cylindrical inner cup 20 that de?nes a predetermined inner
space. A set of outer laminations 30 for a linear motor is
a?ixed to the inner face of the inner cup 20. A disk shaped
cover plate 40 has a hole in a center portion thereof and is
connected to a ?ange 61 that is incorporated to the upper end
of a cylinder 60 and to upper end portions of both the inner
cup 20 and outer laminations 30. A loWer cover 50, Which is
also disk shaped, is connected to the loWer end portion of the
inner cup 20. An upper portion of the cylinder 60 extends
through the open center portion of the cover plate 40, and a
valve system 70 is mounted to the center of the upper portion
of the cylinder 60 to tightly cover the hole through Which the
upper portion of the cylinder 60 extends. A conventional
valve plate having suction and discharge valves can also be
used. Inside the cylinder 60 is mounted a piston 80 Which,
upon being reciprocated by the linear motor, compresses a
refrigerant gas in a knoWn manner. A set of inner laminations
90 of the linear motor is mounted around a portion of an
outer circumferential surface of the cylinder 60, said internal
laminations 90 maintaining a predetermined spacing from
the set of outer laminations 30.
A coil 95, of toroidal shape, is located in a cut-out portion
of an outer circumferential surface of the inner laminations
90, and the ends of the coil 95 are connected to lead Wires
(not shoWn) that supply electric current to the coil 95. If
desired, the coil 95 can also be located on the set of outer
laminations 30. A connecting member in the form of a disk
connects the loWer end of the piston 80 to a cylindrical
actuator 85, to the upper end of Which is attached a magnet
member 86 usually formed by a plurality of permanent
magnets (not shoWn). The magnet member 86 moves in the
space betWeen the sets of outer laminations 30 and inner
laminations 90.
As seen from FIG. 1, the linear motor includes the set of
outer laminations 30, the set of inner laminations 90 carrying
the coil 95, and also the actuator 85, to Which the magnet
member 86 is attached.
Inner helical springs 66 are provided betWeen the con
necting member 65 and a support 68 that is a?ixed to the
bottom of the set of inner laminations 90 to elastically
support the reciprocation of the piston 80. Outer helical
springs 67 are disposed betWeen the connecting member 65
and the loWer cover 50 to support the compressor as the
piston 80 reciprocates. At least one refrigerant gas path 80a
is provided along an upper portion of the cylinder 60 for
admitting refrigerant gas into the latter at a determined
position of the piston 80.
In the operation of the compressor illustrated in FIG. 1,
20 When electric current is supplied to the coil 95, the magnet
member 86, mounted to the actuator 85, reacts With the
magnetic lines of force and reciprocates the actuator 85 in a
straight line betWeen the inner laminations 90 and the outer
laminations 30, Whereby the piston 80 is reciprocated in the
25 cylinder 60 as a function of the corresponding displacement
of the actuator 85. The refrigerant gas ?oWs into the cylinder
60 through the refrigerant gas paths 8011 provided in the
cylinder 60. The refrigerant gas compressed in the cylinder
60 is discharged through the valve system 70, and the above
30 described operation is repeatedly performed.
The inner laminations 90 may be mounted to the cylinder
by using any one of the constructions presently knoWn, such
as the one illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, there can be
provided a molded bracket member mounted to the cylinder
35 and carrying the inner laminations 90, these laminations
having a cut-out in the outer surfaces thereof for lodging the
coil 95.
FIG. 1A illustrates a type of mounting that can be used for
mounting the outer laminations 30. This ?gure illustrates a
40 modi?cation of an arrangement shoWn in said US patent.
The outer laminations 30, made of a magnetic metal, such as
iron or steel, are radially disposed relative to the center of the
compressor. A tubular frame 25 is mounted internal of the
Wall of the inner cup 20 and carries a shelf 26 onto Which is
45 mounted the loWer end of each outer lamination 30, and the
tubular frame 25 is further provided With an upper bracket
27 to connect the upper end of the outer laminations 30.
Nevertheless, it should be understood that any suitable
mounting arrangement might be used for adequately secur
50 ing the outer laminations 30 to the Wall of the inner cup 20.
As seen in the compressor of FIG. 1, the cylinder 60 is
formed With a ?ange 61 extending radially outWardly from
the top of the cylinder 60, and the cover plate 40 provides
a connection betWeen the ?ange 61 of the cylinder 60 and
55 the outer laminations 30. As described beloW, this knoWn
construction gives rise to various problems.
FIG. 2 shoWs a part of another type of prior art compres
sor formed by a cylinder 60, to Whose outer face is a?ixed,
by glue or any other ?xing means, a linear motor, Whose
60 stator comprises inner laminations 90 having an external
cut-out for housing a toroidal coil 95, as already described
in relation to FIG. 1. The upper ends of a set of outer
laminations 30 are directly a?ixed, by glue, Welding or any
other ?xing means, to the inner surface of an external
65 portion of a ?ange 61 incorporated to the cylinder 60 and
extending radially outWardly therefrom, in order to provide
a suspension mounting to the outer laminations 30. The
 US 7,215,047 B2
3 4
lower surface of the ?anges 61 also contacts the tops of the
inner laminations 90. Thus, there is provided a direct con
nection betWeen the ?ange 61 of the cylinder 60 and the
outer laminations 30 and the inner laminations 90.
Heretofore the linear motor has been described as used in
a linear compressor. However, such linear motors also ?nd
use in other devices. For example, a stationary bushing can
replace the cylinder 60 of the compressor and the piston of
the latter can be replaced by a shaft that can be reciprocated
to perform a determined Work as the linear motor operates.
Such other devices may require arrangements for mounting
the inner and outer laminations, and may present variations
in the structural con?gurations thereof in relation to those
illustrated in FIGS. 1, 1A and 2. HoWever, all these knoWn
variations use a direct connection betWeen the three com
ponents that are, (or correspond to, in other devices) the
cylinder 60 With its ?ange 61, the inner laminations 90, and
the outer laminations 30 of the linear motor.
Such constructions, Which are described particularly for
the linear compressor, but have equivalent components in
other useful devices, have the folloWing disadvantages:
a large amount of material is required for constructing the
cylinder, since the cylinder must incorporate its radially
outWardly projecting ?ange 61. Moreover, in the
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, it is further required
the provision of the cover plate 40.
the cylinder must be made of a non-magnetic material, in
order to avoid the ?oW of magnetic lines of force
through the structure. This Would generate Foucault
currents producing heat and energy loss.
the non-magnetic materials for producing the cylinder are
usually of the austenitic type, or of various types of
stainless steel or aluminum, among others, and all such
materials being relatively expensive.
the construction of the cover plate 40 and the ?ange 61 of
the cylinder 60 present a large surface, causing undes
ired irradiation of noise.
a large number of machining operations is needed to form
the cylinders illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, as Well as a
large amount of investment in equipment to produce
the cylinders.
some non-magnetic materials used to produce the cylinder
are inadequate for the components to be subjected to
friction, as it occurs, for example, betWeen the recip
rocating piston and the cylinder, or betWeen the recip
rocating shaft and the stationary bushing, making nec
essary, in certain cases, to use a sleeve of a harder
material for the cylinder or bushing. This makes the
mounting operation more di?icult, increasing the cost
of the ?nal product.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a linear motor
having inner laminations 90 and outer laminations 30 con
nected by a ring member made of non-magnetic material and
Without using any connection to a ?xed member inside
Which another member is reciprocated.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a linear
motor for a linear compressor formed by a set of inner
laminations mounted to the cylinder, and a set of outer
laminations, With the inner and outer laminations being
connected by a non-magnetic connecting ring that stabiliZes
the laminations but does not make contact With any part of
the compressor cylinder.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a linear
motor for a linear compressor that does not require any
direct ?xation to the cylinder to mount the laminations of the
linear motor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The linear motor of the invention is described as used With
a linear compressor having a cylinder, Within Which a piston
is reciprocated by a linear motor to compress refrigerant gas.
The linear motor is formed by a set of inner laminations,
de?ning a stator and mounted around the outer circumfer
ence of the cylinder, and a toroidal coil, Which is constructed
to receive electric current, is carried by the inner lamina
tions. A set of outer laminations is mounted around the inner
surface of a cup, inside Which the compressor is housed. In
some devices, there can be provided a second coil carried by
the outer laminations, or the coil can be provided only in the
set of outer laminations. An actuator is connected to the
20 loWer end of the piston and carries a magnet member in the
space betWeen the inner and outer laminations. Upon appli
cation of current to the coil, the actuator is caused to
reciprocate, carrying the piston With it.
The upper ends of the inner and outer laminations are
25 connected by a connecting ring made of a non-magnetic
material that does not contact the cylinder. The connecting
ring serves as a suspension mounting for the outer lamina
tions, since the inner laminations are mounted to the ?xed
cylinder. This also provides stabiliZation for the sets of
30 laminations. This arrangement does not require any special
con?guration of the cylinder or use of a separate cover plate.
Therefore, the proposed solution is simple and inexpensive
to make, and it provides additional advantages in that the
cylinder and piston can be made of less expensive materials,
35 such as cast iron or steel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects and advantages of the present invention Will
40
become more apparent upon reference to the attached draW
ings, in Which:
FIG. 1 is an elevational cross-sectional vieW of a ?rst
embodiment of a prior art linear compressor;
FIG. 1A is an elevational vieW of one type of mounting
arrangement for the outer laminations of a linear motor
according to the prior art;
FIG. 2 is an elevational cross-sectional vieW of a portion
of a linear compressor according to another embodiment of
the prior art; and
50
FIG. 3 is an elevational cross-sectional vieW of a portion
of a linear compressor constructed according to the subject
invention.
55 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The linear motor of the present invention Will be
described beloW With respect to its application to a linear
compressor. FIG. 3 shoWs an embodiment of the invention
60 in Which the same reference numbers are used for the same
components previously described. According to the inven
tion, the linear motor has a stator formed by a set of inner
laminations 90 mounted onto the outer surface of a cylinder
60. Like in the compressor of FIG. 2, the inner laminations
65 90 have cut-outs in the outer surfaces thereof to house a coil
95, to Which electric current is supplied. As illustrated, the
cylinder 60 is of smaller siZe and of less complicated
 US 7,215,047 B2
5 6
construction as compared to the cylinder 60 of the construc
tions illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, since the ?ange 61 is no
longer required.
A set of outer laminations 30 secures, inferiorly, an upper
portion of the inner cup 20. A connection is provided
betWeen the upper ends of the inner laminations 90 and the
upper ends of the outer laminations 30 by a connecting
element 100, Which is shoWn in the form of a ring. The
connecting element 100 may be a ?at molded or stamped
piece that is fastened to the upper ends of each of the inner
laminations 90 and those of the outer laminations 30 by any
suitable technique, such as by using an adhesive or by
Welding, depending on the materials used for the connecting
element. The connecting element 100 operates as a suspen
sion type mounting for the set of outer laminations 30, that
is, it is secured to the set of inner laminations 90, Which in
turn is mounted to the stationary cylinder 60. Thus, the outer
laminations 30 can be mounted Without the use of a bracket
such as that illustrated in FIG. 1. The connecting element
100 is made of a non-magnetic material, such as stainless
steel, plastic, aluminum, etc. The connecting ring 100 is
preferably provided With through holes 107 opened to the
space Within Which the magnet member 86 moves in order
to permit the passage of gas that is compressed by the
magnet member 86 in said space.
The construction of the present invention has several
advantages, among Which the folloWing may be mentioned:
there is achieved a reduction in the siZe of the cylinder,
since the ?ange 61 is no longer required, as contem
plated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Also, no separate cover 40 is
required, as contemplated in the compressor of FIG. 1.
the absence of the cylinder ?ange and/or cover plate
eliminates a source of noise.
the cylinder 60 may be made of a magnetic material, such
as steel or cast iron, Which is less expensive than a
non-magnetic material. Such metals are also more
structurally reliable When subjected to friction by the
reciprocating piston, Which, in this case may also be
made of steel or cast iron.
the linear motor remains magnetically insulated from the
cylinder, since the connecting element 100 is of non
magnetic material. Therefore, no Foucault currents are
generated.
the mounting of the various elements is simpli?ed.
the production of the cylinder, as compared to the struc
tures of the prior art cylinder, is simpli?ed.
While the linear motor has been described to drive the
piston of a linear compressor in the disclosed embodiment of
the invention, it should be understood that this motor con
struction also can drive a different element instead of the
piston, for example, a shaft of an equipment that recipro
cates Within a bushing in place of the compressor cylinder.
In such devices, there is no need to provide a ?ange
incorporated to the bushing or the cylinder to connect the
laminations.
Speci?c features of the invention are shoWn in a ?gure of
the draWings for convenience only, as each feature may be
combined With other features according to the invention.
Alternative embodiments Will be recogniZed as possible by
those skilled in the art and are intended to be included Within
the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the above description
should be construed as illustrating and not limiting the scope
of the invention. All such obvious changes and modi?ca
tions are Within the scope of the appended claims.
The invention claimed is:
1. A linear motor, comprising:
a stator formed by a set of inner laminations carrying a
coil and attached to a ?xed member, and a set of outer
laminations spaced from the inner laminations, and
a magnet element carried by an actuator that is connected
to reciprocate a movable member Within the ?xed
member When electric current is applied to the coil, and
a connecting element in the form of a ring, connecting the
outer laminations and the inner laminations said con
necting element being spaced from and does not con
tact the ?xed member.
2. The linear motor as set forth in claim 1, Wherein the
connecting element connects the top portions of the outer
laminations With the top portions of the inner laminations
and the actuator is connected to the movable member at a
bottom of the linear motor.
3. The linear motor as set forth in claim 2, Wherein said
connecting element has though holes communicating With
20 the space de?ned betWeen the inner laminations and the
outer laminations.
4. A linear compressor including the linear motor as
de?ned in claim 3, Wherein said ?xed member is a cylinder
of a compressor, said movable member being de?ned by a
25
piston Which is reciprocated in the cylinder by the linear
motor.
5. The linear motor as set forth in claim 2, Wherein said
connecting element is made of a non-magnetic material.
30
6. A linear compressor including the linear motor as
de?ned in claim 2, Wherein said ?xed member is a cylinder
of a compressor, said movable member being de?ned by a
piston Which is reciprocated in the cylinder by the linear
motor.
35 7. The linear motor as set forth in claim 1, Wherein said
connecting element is made of a non-magnetic material.
8. A linear compressor including the linear motor as
de?ned in claim 7, Wherein said ?xed member is a cylinder
of a compressor, said movable member being de?ned by a
40 piston Which is reciprocated in the cylinder by the linear
motor.
9. A linear compressor including the linear motor as
de?ned in claim 1, Wherein said ?xed member is a cylinder
of a compressor, said movable member being de?ned by a
45 piston Which is reciprocated in the cylinder by the linear
motor.
10. A linear motor comprising:
a stator including:
a set of inner laminations carrying a coil,
50
a ?xed member attached to the inner laminations,
a set or outer laminations spaced from the inner lami
nations, and
a connecting element in the form of a ring, spaced from
the ?xed member and connecting the inner lamina
55
tions to the outer laminations at a top side of the
linear motor; and
a magnet element carried by actuator that is connected to
a movable member at a bottom side of the linear motor,
60
the movable member reciprocating Within the ?xed
member When electric current is applied to the coil.
11. A linear motor comprising:
a stator including:
a set of inner laminations mounted around and onto an
65 outer circumference of a cylinder of a compressor,
a set of outer laminations arranged radially outWardly
spaced from said set of inner laminations, and
 US 7,215,047 B2
7 8
a coil carried by one of the set of inner or the set of connection element connecting the set of outer lami
outer laminations; nations and the set of inner laminations,
a magnet carried by an actuator that is connected to Wherein the set of outer laminations is suspended on and
reciprocate a piston Within the cylinder When electric secured to the set of the inner laminations by said ring.
current is applied to the coil; and
a connection element in form of a ring Which does not
contact the cylinder and is spaced therefrom, said